Health related information and news from around the world.

Some people have an inherited tendency to high fat levels in the blood and diet alone may not be sufficient to lower the levels. There are drugs which can reduce the amount of fat retained and these may be necessary.

Coronary artery disease may develop in people in the early thirties but heart attacks become more common in the late forties and early fifties.

Women seem relatively immune from heart attack until after the menopause, when the incidence rises dramatically and may exceed that for men.

Gradual narrowing of the coronary arteries may lead to the condition of angina.

When the heart has to work harder with more exertion, the heart muscle requires more blood to supply its own needs. With narrowing of the arteries, not enough blood may be able to get through.

The diagnosis of angina is usually easy to make as the story is so typical, although examination may not reveal any abnormalities and even the electrocardiograph may be normal.

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Diagnosis is established by repeated examinations which reveal that the uterus is not increasing in size, and the pregnancy test carried out on the urine becomes negative.

The treatment is D and C.

It is worth remembering that miscarriage is an all-or-nothing business.

Should the threatened miscarriage settle down and the pregnancy proceed to term, then the baby is normal.

Some women fear that when the threat to pregnancy has been averted, an abnormal baby may be preserved. Therefore, they worry considerably and unnecessarily for the remainder of the pregnancy.

Even when a woman is unhappy with the pregnancy, miscarriage may still produce an emotional reaction. Depression is common and of course is due to a normal grief reaction.

We grieve for something lost.

At this time husbands need to be particularly understanding.

And often associated with the depression is a sense of guilt.

A woman may worry that either she did something she should have avoided, or neglected some precaution she should have taken.

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